Wanted: Awesome HTML5 app ports for Firefox OS & the Open Web

A bit of background

In 2013, Mozilla and our partners launched Firefox OS in fourteen markets. We released three Firefox OS smartphone models and a Geeksphone developer preview device. Our Developer Relations team hosted eight invite-only workshops for app developers around the world: Mountain View, London, Madrid, Bogota, Warsaw, Porto Alegre, Guadalajara, and Budapest. This year, Firefox OS will launch on more devices in more countries around the world. We continue to grow Firefox Marketplace with new and engaging HTML5 apps that run on Firefox OS devices.

Through our Phones for Apps program, we’ve shipped hundreds of Geeksphones to app developers around the world. Developers like you ported existing HTML5 apps to Firefox OS, and got to keep the developer preview devices we sent. Huge thanks to hundreds of these pioneers in scores of countries who delivered apps to Firefox Marketplace!

What’s new: Phones for Cordova/PhoneGap ports

This year we’re focused on finding the very best apps — apps that deliver great experiences and local relevance to Firefox OS users. For HTML5 app developers, powerful cross-platform tools make it easier to build apps for native platforms and to access native device APIs. This week we introduced the Firefox OS Cordova 3.4 integration, which makes it possible to release Cordova apps on the Firefox OS platform. While this is an ongoing project, significant functionality is available now with the 3.4 release of Apache Cordova. Yesterday’s post describes how to use these new capabilities to port your existing app or apps.

If you’ve already built apps with Cordova/PhoneGap this is a unique opportunity to port your apps quickly and easily. We’ve heard from developers who successfully migrated PhoneGap apps to Firefox OS over a weekend — taking hours, not weeks or months. And we know there are great PhoneGap apps out there. For this reason, the third phase of our popular and successful Phones for Apps program will focus exclusively on app “porters” with currently popular and well-rated Cordova/PhoneGap apps. (NOTE: HTML5 applications can be packaged as native apps via the framework and made available for installation. Cordova is the underlying software in the Adobe product PhoneGap.)

Who should apply

If you’re a Cordova/PhoneGap developer with published HTML5 apps on any platform, we invite you to participate in the Phones for Cordova/PhoneGap Apps program. Show us your well-rated listed app and if it’s a fit for Firefox Marketplace, we’ll ship you a developer device and help you through the process of getting your app into the Firefox Marketplace. Here’s how it works:

All submissions will be reviewed as they are received. We’ll let you know if your application is accepted.

Once you commit to porting your app, we’ll send you a device.

Upcoming Firefox OS workshops & hack events

In addition to our online Phones for Cordova/PhoneGap Ports program, we plan to host a limited number of invitation-only Firefox OS App Workshops in new locales. We’re excited to announce a workshop in the beautiful city of Prague in the Czech Republic, date to be set next quarter. The enrollment form is open and we are accepting applications from qualified HTML5 developers.

REQUIRED: You must have a Firefox OS app in progress or a published HTML5 app that you’re porting to Firefox OS. Show us a link to your existing app or to working code for the app you’re building. If you don’t provide relevant links to working app code we will not consider your application.

What if you don’t live near Prague in the Czech Republic? Don’t worry! We plan to offer several other app workshops this year and we’ll announce them here.

Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve already built apps for Firefox OS, there are many hackathons, App Days, and other events hosted or sponsored by Mozillians and happening around the world where you can participate and learn. Find out about community-driven Firefox events hosted by Mozilla Reps as well as talks and events that include Mozilla participants across the planet.

@amoeba – Thanks for your interest in this program! Right now we are focusing specifically on apps built using Cordova/PhoneGap. That said, if you have a working webapp running now, could you point us at it? Please email a link or pointer to your current working app: send to appsdev at mozilla dot com and we’ll get back to you.

I am a university student currently attending University of Central Florida. I am very interested in mobile and web development, working mostly with Android and iOS at the moment. I am very intrigued with Firefox OS and would love to develop for the platform. While I don’t have any currently written Phonegap applications, is there anyway I could still get a developer device? Thank you for your time.

@shrey – Thanks very much for your interest in Firefox apps. I’m thinking you meant your comment as a question. :)

In this program, we are looking for developers who can port topnotch HTML5 apps built with PhoneGap and/or Cordova, that are not currently available in Firefox Marketplace, but are already live and doing well on another platform. We will review each submission based on these criteria.

@Jordan – Thanks for asking! You can get started developing apps for Firefox OS using Firefox Developer Tools, like the App Manager and the Simulator, that are built into the browser (see Tools>Web Developer). There’s more info here: